Lena(Mama) and Leif (Papa) and their three boys are what is known as a Gypsy Nurse Family. Leif is a Registered Nurse who contracts with different companies throughout the country to work in their hospitals for up to three months at a time. For the last year they have traveled as a family. They are now settling down for the kiddos'sake and Leif is working locally in rural southern utah

Saturday, January 10, 2009

We watched Mamma Mia tonight. Even though this has been a popular Broadway play, and now a popular movie, I never really knew the whole story line. I only knew what the movie trailers showed, what everyone raved about, and that it sounded cute to me.

As we watched the show the entertainment was great! We laughed and enjoyed the music, dancing, and quality acting. Then the show started coming to an end. This is where I became very disappointed. Call me old fashion, but the lack of morals in the show hit too close to home in my family and the world we live in.

The show starts with the daughter telling about these three men that her mother had a "summer romance" with. There was only one of the three men that the mother truly loved. Then throughout the movie the daughter continually has to convince people that she truly loves the man she is going to marry. So naturally you think that the mother and the daughter will end up having a double wedding. Well, not so...

The daughter gets to the alter, the secret of the fact that her mom doesn't know who her daughter's real father is gets all cleared up, and suddenly the daughter decides that she no longer NEEDS to get married. The daughter's Love wraps her in his arms and says in essence ahhh, we're too young to get married, let's just travel the world together first! Then the mother's Love announces that he still loves her, and she reveals her love for him, and they get married instead.

HERE IS MY QUESTION: The daughter and her fiance loved each other just as much as the mother and her Love loved each other, Why Not BOTH Get Married!? What is the difference between the two relationships? This is a SERIOUS question that I NEED some feedback on! Why does a couple who loves each other as much as a married man and wife decide Not to get married! WHY!!!???? I need some insite. I'm not standing to judge, it is honestly something that I don't understand and I am trying to figure out...

Friday, January 09, 2009

Nate is my youngest brother who lived with me in Hawaii for a while. We lived in a tiny 200 square foot closet sized apartment that we payed $550-600.00 for each month. We hung a lava lava skirt as a door to the bathroom. We leaned our mattresses up against the wall during the day and when we laid them down at night, one mattress blocked the apartment door so it couldn't open all the way. We shared a community kitchen. And we continued the family "green thumb" tradition by growing a rose bush and tomato plant out in the parking lot of the complex. Poor Nate stayed home much of the days and nights reading and playing cards. I worked two jobs and was dating Leif. We tried to include him in the fun when we could;) Nate came with me on a trip with the family that I was a nanny for. We went to the Big Island and had a great time! aahhh Hawaii, Such Good Times!

This is something that one of my roommates from Hawaii sent me. I LOVED it because I could relate to it in so many ways! Those of you who know me well will understand.:)

You know you from Hawaii when...

- You can understand and speak pidgin english and da people from da mainland cannot understand you- You automatically take your slippahs off in someone elses home- No body is completely sure where "north" is...- You eat rice every single day- Its shave ice not snow cones, shoyu not soy sauce, saimin not ramen, slippers not flip flops- You know to NEVER turn your back to da ocean- The name Duke means royalty...- You know what "ukus" are and you had um at least once when you was one lil keiki- You been to almost all da oder islands- You have highlighted hair- You know where all da creepy places like burial sites are on da island- Da term "dress up" means one nice aloha shirt and jeans- You eat arare- You know what "tutu" means- You eat malasadas- You get a million pairs of rubbah slippahs outside your house when your family gets together- You dont understand why someone would buy anything smaller den a 20 pound bag of rice- You eat portuguese sausage, eggs and rice for breakfast- You buy large quantities of toilet paper in case ders a longshoreman strike- You would serve spam as a meat for dinner- You know why ders letters on top da trees at graduations- You can taste da difference between teriyaki and kal-bi- You know wut da "stink eye" is and how to give it- You can correctly pronounce Kalanianaole, Kalakaua and Aiea- You know wut "Morgans Corner" is and it still scares you- You know wut a "Huli Huli" chicken is- You know da difference between being hapa and hapai- You know wut it takes to get into Kamehameha schools- You say "Nori" not seaweed paper and "Brah" not bro- You know why Sharks Cove is called Sharks Cove- Your jokes are about da Portuguese not Polish- You tink 70 degrees is cold- You know pineapples dont grow on trees- Public transportation = Da Bus- You get da surf report on speed dial- You spent half your life barefoot- You neva understood why adding pineapples and ham to a pizza made it "Hawaiian" to da rest of da world- You eat mango wit shoyu, vinegar and pepper- You know how for cook rice by measuring da water wit da knuckle of your index finger- The condiments at da dinner table are shoyu, ketchup, chili peppah watah, kimchee, takuwan, Hawaiian salt and pickled onions- You call everyone older den you "Aunty" or "Uncle" even if dey arent related to you- A balanced meal has 3 starches: rice, macaroni salad, and bread- Your only suit is a bathing suit- You drive barefoot- You feel guilty leaving a get together without helping clean up- The idea of taking something from a heiau is unthinkable- You'd rather drag out da compressor every morning to fill da leaky tire instead of get it fixed- Da only time you honk your horn is during a safety check- Your cuzin is Japanese-Chinese-Filipino-Hawaiian-Portuguese-French-Korean-Scottish and some stuff too manini to mention- You watch your favorite shows "on top da TV"- A approaching hurricane only means one thing....Surfs up brah!- Da best cooks use pleny mayonnaise- Beans are da perfect condiment for ice cream- No one knows exactly where da "fast lane" is on da freeway- Female volleyball players are major celebrities- Birds walk more den fly- When you hear da words "fundraiser" it means Zippy's Chili- You go to Maui and your luggage home includes potato chips, manju, cream puffs, guri-guri, and saimin from Sam Sato's- You know 101 ways to fix your rubbah slippahs- You have someone in your family named "Boy", "Tita", "Bruddah", "Sonny" or "Honey Gurl"- You have a slipper tan- You sometimes use your open car door as a dressing room- "You like beef" has nothing to do wit wuts for dinner

It is an awesome camera meant for the semi-professional photographer. Apparently, Leif got a killer deal, and THIS is my birthday gift from Leif (along with everything else he gave me.;) I was speechless, and that doesn't happen very often!

I'm still speechless! It is a VERY NICE camera. I am VERY Grateful! And VERY EXCITED! But whoa! All I can figure out how to say is:

I Love You Too, My Love!

Can you guess what one of my next college courses will be? Yep! Photography.

Wednesday, January 07, 2009

I think it is hilarious how everyone has reacted to me doing a colon cleanse and the fact that I have announced it to all of you! :)

There shouldn't be anything embarrassing about doing a colon cleanse! It is a very good idea for all of us! There are a lot of different types of colon cleanses. The one I'm doing is just powders, teas, and pills. So don't think I'm going too extreme!;)

I just had to let you all know that you made me smile!:) Also, thank you all so much for your phone calls and messages wishing me a happy birthday. It has brightened my day! I have Young Women's at my house tonight (which I'm happy about.) So Leif and I will go out on Friday. My mother in law just called to tell me she's making us dinner tonight. So, things are great!

From what I am told, 30 years ago was a sweet day in my parent's life. My mother always tells me that the day I was born was a beautiful Sunday. They had attended church and when they went in to the hospital, the doctor (who was a bishop) sang hymns as I was born. I like to think that there is a significant reason that I was born on a Sunday. It always meant something to me anyway.

My mother tells me that I was a jewel as a baby. My mother needed this gift because she became pregnant with my younger brother when I was only TWO MONTHS OLD! I can not even fathom that thought. Let alone have it be a reality!

As a child I remember a few birthdays that stand out. I think the first must have been my 8th birthday. I had a big party. We must have been celebrating my baptism as well. We went ice skating and I had a lot of friends there.

My sixteenth birthday was fun too. My friends came early in the morning and kidnapped me. We went to breakfast. I feel bad because I get my sisters 16th and my 16th birthdays mixed up. I think they made some type of banner for me to wear to school that told everyone I was finally sixteen. Fun memories...

Now that I'm married and a mother. Birthdays take on new meaning. When one of my kid's have a birthday, I reflect on the fact that I gave birth that day... When I have a birthday it usually means that Leif and I can count on a special date night. Leif usually always spoils me. When we were in Hawaii he surprised me with a blue pearl necklace. Last year we went out to dinner and came home to a special birthday cake made by my mother in law and Jakob. It had a whistling candle on it.:) This year, Leif is granting my wish. I asked Leif to order he and I a Colonix kit. Yes! I asked for a colon cleanse for my birthday!:) Hey, it's been 30 years! I'd say it's about time for a spring cleaning!!;)

Tuesday, January 06, 2009

My friend Heidi wrote about a reoccurring nightmare that she keeps having. I told her that I have a similar dream, and that I would write about it. I actually have a few reoccurring dreams. When Leif and I got married I started to pay attention more to my dreams. I noticed my nightmares a lot more, probably because I had someone to snuggle with and find comfort from after waking from the nightmare. Over the five years that we've been married I have 4 different reoccurring nightmare themes.

The most common nightmare theme is a dream that ends with a horrible argument between my mother and I. The context of the dream changes but the theme is always conflict and sadness. My mother and I often viciously tell each other that we hate each other. I usually end up going back to her and taking my words back. Other times I just plead to know why I am hated so much. It sounds terrible, I know. They are often very disturbing. I pray that they will go away...

The second most common theme revolves around the last days of my senior year in high school. It's the end of the last semester of my senior year. I have skipped so many classes that I can't even remember my schedule, let alone where the classes are located. I have to find a way to get the office ladies to reissue me my schedule so I can try to save myself from not graduating from high school. Sometimes the dream ends with that frustration. Sometimes it continues and I am not able to graduate and I have to go through different scenarios of telling people that I won't be walking with my class in graduation.

The next dream revolves around Leif. Whenever I have this dream the story of the dream is different, but I am always trying to reach Leif on my cellphone. I can't get hold of him. My phone is broken, or I can't remember the phone number, or he just doesn't answer the phone.

The fourth and final nightmare stems from the loss of my twins. In this dream I have given birth to a baby. But somehow I have forgotten to nurse the baby. After hours of forgetting to care for the baby, I frantically and hysterically search for the baby. When I find the baby it is no longer living.... Such a bizarre dream!

Reasons for these nightmares?

I can't tell you every reason. But the obvious reason to me are:

First dream: My mother and I fought viciously when I was growing up. It was very traumatic for me and obviously had a serious impact on my subconscious self.

Second Dream: Well, I skipped class a lot in high school. I graduated because of the mercy of my sign language teacher passing me when I should have failed. I think that affected me. I also liked the thoughts that my friend Heidi had about the fact that I might be feeling unprepared for something in my real world.

Third dream: Leif and I joke that I probably have that dream when I want to snuggle with Leif but I'm too asleep to wake up enough to roll over and snuggle:) It might also stem from the horrible fear that I have of losing Leif.

Fourth dream: This one is obvious. When I lost the twins, one of the hardest things physically was having to stop the production of breast milk. It really affected me psychologically. I think now that I am nursing Caleb, my subconscious mind sometimes tries to alert me that I have other babies that I should have nursed and cared for.

This morning I'm trying to recover from another terrible night with Caleb. Two nights in a row of screaming and feeding every 2-3 hours through the night. Don't worry, I'm re-evaluating things. He'll be nine months old tomorrow and I'll be 30 years old. I need my sleep. I can handle every 4 hours. But at this point, less then that is too hard.

The last two evenings I've made funky meals for dinner. The first was Thai Chicken and the second was Moraco Chicken. Both had some spice to it. But nothing too extreme except ginger or turmeric. Maybe he's teething... I hate the guessing game!

Well, it's time to start the day. Jakob goes back to preschool today! Praise Be For That!!!!!:)